Thestructuresundergoingmodificationdisplaythevisibleevidenceofadaptation,butsuccessivestructuralmodificationsarelikelytorevealabasicsetofoperatorsthatactuponthestructures.Itistherepeatedactionoftheseoperatorsupontheidentifiedstructuresthatproducestheobservedadaptation.19Themodelofadaptationissimple.Therearethreemajorcomponentsintheprocessthatcanbeidentifiedforanyfield.First,thereistheenvironmentofthesystemthatisundergoingadaptation.Theenvironmentprovidesthecontextinwhichadaptationoccursandoffersmultiplestimuliandobstaclestotheprocess.Second,the'adaptiveplan'isthesetofbeliefsorconditionsinfluencingstructuralchoicesintheenvironmentatsuccessivestagesofdevelopmentinordertoimproveperformance.Theadaptiveplanincludesthecentralvaluesandintelligentsensingmechanismsthatdrivetheselectionprocess.Third,'themeasureofperformanceor'fitness'ofthestructureinthatenvironmentservesasthecriterionforchoiceinretainingormodifyingthestructures.Thesecomponentsinteractwithoneanotherinanadaptationprocessthatcanbecharacterizedbyasetoffundamentalquestionsappropriatetoanysystem.Thesequestions,posedbyHolland,areasfollows:1.Towhatpartsoftheenvironmentisthesystemadapting?2.Howdoestheenvironmentact upon theadaptingsystem?3.Whatstructuresareundergoingadaptation?6

internationaldisasterassistanceisindicated.AdaptationinPerformanceofInternationalTeamsEngagedinSearchandRescueOperationsfollowingthe19September1985MexicanEarthquakeUsingthemodelofadaptationoutlinedabove,itispossibletoidentifythedifferentcomponentsofan-adaptiveprocessfromthecontextofpost-disastersearchandrescueoperationsinMexicoCity.Theenvironmentunderanalysisincludesthedomainofinternationalactorsonly,foralthoughtheinternationalteamsinteractedregularlywiththeMexicangovernmentandsubunitsoftheMexicangovernmentinsearchandrescueoperations,thefocusofthisstudyistheinternationaldisasterassistanceprocessanditsperformanceinthecontextoftheMexicandisaster.TheimpactoftheinternationalteamsupontheoperationsoftheMexicangovernmentinsearchandrescueactivitieslikelygeneratedaseparateadaptiveprocess,butconsiderationofthatprocessisbeyondthescopeofthisstudy.Thespecificenvironmentoftheinternationalsearchandrescueteamsgeneratedmultiplestimuliandpowerfulobstaclestoeffectiveperformanceininternationaldisasterassistance.Thesestimuliandobstacleswillbedescribedintheidentificationoftermsfortheadaptationmodelinthiscontext.Thesecondmajorcomponent or themodelisthe'adaptiveplan'orthesetofinputsfromtheenvironmentinteractingwithpossibleformsforactionthatdetermine-theactualchoicesmadeininternationalsearchandrescueoperations.Theadaptiveplan12

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inthisenvironmentincludesthesharedvaluesofhumanitarianconcernforvictimsofthedisasterandcommitmenttoresponsibleactiondemonstratedbyallnationsthatextendeddisasterassistancetoMexico.Itisexpressed,forexample,inthelogooftheu.s.SearchandRescue(SAR)DogTeam,"ThatOthersMayLive".27Again,thespecificelementsoftheadaptiveplanwillbedescribedintheidentificationoftermsforthemodel.Finally,thecriterionoffitperformanceinthisenvironmentwastherescueofhumanlife,drawinguponprofessionalstandardsoforganizationaleffectivenessandefficiencythatwereacknowledgedbytheinternationalrescueteams,separatelyandcollectively.28GiventheinitialassessmentthatthebasiccomponentsofanadaptiveprocessdidexistintheMexicandisaster,thefurtherelementsofthemodelcanbespecified.Theseelementswillbedefinedinreferencetosevenfundamenta1termscharacterizingtheadaptationprocess.EnvironmentThesystemunderstudyisthedecision-makingprocessininternationaldisasterassistance.Thesystemitselfisnascent,andalthoughdecisionsareclearlymaderegardingtheallocationandimplementationofinternationaldisasterassistance,theprocessbywhichthesedecisions are madeandthecriteriaforchoiceappeartobeevolvingwithexperienceindisasteroperations.Thelargerenvironmentforthissystemisdisastermanagementincatastrophicnaturalortechnologicalevents.More13

requirementsforproductiveactioninthedisasterenvironment.Third,directobservationsofparticipantsin_searchandrescueactivitiescontributedacontinuingflowofinformationandassessmentofrequirementsforeffectiveaction.Equally,reportsandresponseofinformedobserversregardingtheunfoldingsearchandrescueoperationsaddedanimportantperspective to thedecision-makingprocess.31Allthreeinputscontributetothetransmissionofdatatomultiplerecipientssimultaneouslyandthetransformationofthosedataintoinformationmarshaledfordecisionsupportthroughthecommonfilterofthegoalfordisasteroperations,savinglivesandassistingthoseinjured,madehomelessorotherwiseaffectedbythedisaster.structuresAgain,multiplestructuresemergedintheactivitiesofthesearchandrescueoperationsprocess.Theclearestandmostvisiblestructures,were,first,thesearchandrescueteamssentbyninenations--France,WestGermany,Israel,Italy,Spain,Switzer1and,UnitedKingdom,UnitedStatesandVenezue1a.32Notallteamswereincommunicationwithoneanother;notallteamshadthesametechnologiesorstrategiesinsearchandrescueoperations.Yet,allteamsdidsharethesamecommitmenttolocateandrescuevictimstrappedinthedebris.Second,thenationalembassieslocatedinMexicoCityservedaspointsofcommunicationbetweentherespectivesearchteamsandtheirnationalcapitolsandaspossiblepointsofcoordinationamong15

organizations.Finally,itincludestheverylimited,butpotentiallyevenmorepowerfulcontactbetweenthesetofstructures--fieldsearchteams,nationalembassiesandinternationalorganizations--andthecitizensofMexicowhoactuallyreceivedsomebenefitthroughtheinternationaldisasterassistanceprocess.MemoryTheinteractionamongoperatorsandstructuresinthegivendisasterenvironmentisextremelycomplex. Not allofthoseinteractionsareretainedinthecollectivehistoryoftheprocess.Memoryconstitutesthevitalrecordofthoseeventsandexperiences'selected'ascriticaltoperformance.These,thenserveasthelessonslearnedfromtheinteraction.Severaltypesofexperiencewerevividlyembeddedinthecollectivememoryofthehumanparticipantsinsearchandrescueoperations.Firstwasthegreatsenseoffrustrationatnotbeingabletoaccomplishtheirintendedgoalsbecauseoflackofcoordination,organizationorfacilitationamongtheseparateactorsintheprocess.Thissenseoffrustration'washeightenedbytherecognitionthatintent,materialsorpersonnelwerenotlacking;rather,communication,planningandadministrativeskillsappropriatetothemagnitudeofthetaskwere.35Second,equallypowerfulinshapingthecollectivememoryofthisprocesswasthesharedexperienceofexperimentationwithnewmethodsofdevelopingcoordination,inventingcommunicationsproceduresbetweenparticipantsandpoolinginformationregarding17